Hoosiers split matches against ranked Iowa, Nebraska

For the second straight weekend, No. 45 Indiana split two matches against ranked competition at home.

The Hoosiers started the weekend taking on No. 72 Iowa. IU denied Iowa its first road win of the season, as it defeated the Hawkeyes 6-1.

Junior Leslie Hureau and freshman Shannon Murdy took the opening match of doubles play when they rolled against an Iowa tandem 8-1.

To secure the doubles point, senior Evgeniya Vertesheva and sophomore Kayla Fujimoto were victorious in their match 8-4.

After a long battle in the one slot, sophomore Sophie Garre and freshman Katie Klyczek fell short to a Hawkeye pair 8-6.

The Hoosiers dominated the singles action, winning five of the six matches. Freshmen Carolyn Chupa and Klyczek started in impressive fashion, giving up just three games between the two of them.

After losing the first two games of the match, Chupa went on a tirade, not losing another game for the 6-2, 6-0 final.

Klyczek easily disposed of her Iowa opponent, winning 6-1, 6-0.

Murdy saw her first singles action of the Big Ten season, and she capitalized on the opportunity by winning 6-1, 6-4. The singles win secured the fourth team point and another win against a ranked foe for IU.

IU Coach Lin Loring said she was happy for and proud of Murdy.

“She did a really good job,” Loring said. “She’s been playing well in practice, and her shoulder is finally healthy. We’re very even in our last four or five
positions.”

Fellow freshman Alecia Kauss took care of her opponent 6-3, 6-1.

Hureau, the reigning Big Ten player of the week, defeated another ranked foe by taking down No. 115 Sonja Molnar 6-1, 7-5.

Loring said Hureau had had trouble with Molnar in the past, dropping both of her matches against her in previous years.

“Leslie has never won a set off that girl,” Loring said. “Their No. 1 player has always been one of the top two or three in the Big Ten, and she’s never won more than three games in any set against her, so that’s a great win for Leslie.”

IU turned around Sunday squaring off against No. 17 Nebraska in blustery conditions. The Huskers took the match 5-2.

Nebraska took the opening match of doubles play, dominating Vertesheva and Fujimoto for the 8-0 win, and then secured the doubles point with an 8-5 win against Hureau and Murdy.

The No. 1 slot had a Hoosier victory as Garre and Klyczek took the close match 8-6.
In singles, No. 40 Mary Weatherholt proved to be too much for Hureau, as Hureau lost for the first time since Feb. 24.

After losing the first set in a tiebreak 7-6, Chupa put up little resistance when she lost her second set 6-0.

Vertesheva fell to No. 117 Patricia Veresova in straight sets 6-2, 6-1, and Klyczek also lost her match 6-3, 6-3.

The Hoosiers saw victories in the five and six slots, with Kauss winning 6-1, 6-1 and Fujimoto downing her Husker foe 7-6, 6-2.

Loring said she felt as though Nebraska was able to adapt to the weather better than the Hoosiers.

“Early on, when it was windy, I thought they handled the wind real well,” Loring said. “They’re a little stronger than we are, and they hit the ball a little harder, so they dealt with the wind better than we did.”